Northern Trust Corp Sells 26,461 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.3%, now owning approximately 1.99 million shares valued at $688 million.
• HCA Healthcare reported strong earnings of $6.84 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates, with revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72, which is set to be paid on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%.

Northern Trust Corp reduced its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,991,510 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,461 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.83% of HCA Healthcare worth $688,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.4% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,791,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 872 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Bank of America downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $394.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $404.00 to $401.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $398.58.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $0.61 on Friday, reaching $404.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,081,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,629. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $373.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $354.23. The company has a market cap of $94.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.39.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 12.11%.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.